


Back to the Start

by awaytobeunshaken



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, M/M, Supervirus, discussion of mass death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-21 18:37:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21060581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awaytobeunshaken/pseuds/awaytobeunshaken
Summary: It's been a year and a half since a deadly disease wiped out most of Earth's population. Since then, many people have come together since then to re-forge communities, while others have been surviving as best they can on their own.





	Back to the Start

**Author's Note:**

> Post-apocalypse AU for Culmets week 2019  
Loosely based on/inspired by Stephen King's _The Stand_

Paul crept forward along the ledge, keeping an eye above him for a couple more handholds. He didn’t usually forage so far from home, but it was the right time of year for wild mushrooms, and even if he didn’t find anything edible, they’d be useful for study. He’d spotted a good quantity sprouting from the rock face above the highway. Getting to them wasn’t easy, exactly, but the ledges were mostly wide enough on the way up that it was doable. 

He moved his foot to a higher ledge and swung his hand up to the rock jutting out from above, and finally was within reach of the cluster. There were more than he’d noticed from the ground, and a few different types. He’d have to double-check his references once he got back home, but it appeared some of them were edible. Paul braced himself against the rock face as he stuffed his pack, then worked his way back down the cliff the way he came, unfortunately forgetting to account for the extra weight of his haul. It didn’t take much, just a sharper drop than expected, to throw him off balance, sending him tumbling to the ground.

* * *

“I still don’t know what Michael’s expecting us to find!” complained Tilly, as they walked along the deserted highway. 

“Expect?” Hugh responded. “Probably nothing. Hope? Maybe a gas station with a few cans still on the shelves, or fresh water. Maybe even a farm with some seed that’s still good. If we...” Hugh paused as he heard something whimpering, and immediately put a hand to the pistol at his waist. Most people they came across preferred an invite back to base for a meal over stealing what scant supplies they had on them, but not all. And a hungry animal would be another story altogether. 

He drew the weapon and moved slowly toward the sound. Tilly stayed behind him, her own gun raised. The sound turned out to be human. A pale man crouched in the shadow of the roadway, rocking back and forth, clutching one arm. “Cover me,” he whispered to Tilly. He wouldn’t be the first person to feign an injury as a prelude to robbery. Tilly fixed her gun on the man as Hugh approached, then carefully dropped his pack to the ground and knelt beside him. 

“Hey, I’m a doctor, okay. I want to help.” The man nodded. “I need to examine you, find out how badly you’re injured, all right?” Another nod. Hugh’s hands travelled to the back of the man’s head, carefully examining his skull. No fractures, no blood, no apparent concussion. That was good. He’d either been very lucky, or hadn’t fallen too far. He turned his attention to the man’s arm, and as soon as he got a good look, it was obvious that it was broken. He was likely in shock from the pain. 

“Looks like you broke your arm.” Another nod. “Is that all? Do you think you can walk?” Nod. “Okay, I don’t want to try to set this here, but I’ll need to stabilize it so we can travel.” He began to rummage through his bag for something he could fashion into a sling. 

Paul finally spoke. “Are you really a doctor? From before, I mean.”

“Genuine M.D. Of course, we’re all a little of everything by now.”

“Who’s ‘we’?”

“Well, sort of everyone who’s left, I would guess. But if you’re asking who my people are, we’re set up at the college. You know where I mean?” He nodded. “I’m Hugh, by the way. And that’s Tilly.” He motioned to the woman behind him. “Oh, and Tilly, you can put that away. I think he’s safe.”

“I’m Paul,” the man replied, then added, “and you’re an angel.”

Hugh’s heart stopped for just a moment. He hadn’t taken the time to notice it before as he’d been busy doctoring, but Paul was rather handsome, with piercing blue eyes even in his daze and a couple days of stubble on his chin. Of course, Paul could have just been talking about his actions, not him specifically. After all, he was straight as likely as not. Still, a smile spread across Hugh’s face and he was suddenly very aware of their proximity to one another as he secured the sling across Paul’s chest. 

“All done,” Hugh said, standing up and extending one hand to Paul, who took it and let Hugh help him to his feet. Hugh tried not to, but he let the touch linger just a moment longer than necessary as he let go. “We’d best get moving. We’re a few hours walk from home base, gonna be cutting it close getting there before nightfall.”

Hugh let Tilly take the lead, while he hung back where he could keep an eye on Paul. A professional eye; he’d seemed well enough, but hidden injuries were always a possibility. Paul’s pace remained steady, though, and while the bound arm seemed to be throwing his balance off slightly, his footing was sure. 

“So what exactly were you doing out there?” Hugh asked, once he convinced himself that Paul wasn’t going to stumble or collapse in front of him.

“Harvesting mushrooms. Didn’t you see? Hillside was covered in them.”

“Mushrooms?” Hugh raised an eyebrow. “Tilly was doing graduate work in mycology.”

“Yeah, for all the good that does us now,” she said.

“You must not have been too far into that degree,” Paul said, “if you think it’d be useless. Fungi are the veins and muscles that hold our world together, the universe’s recyclers, the link between death and life. We need that now more than ever.”

* * *

The first thing Paul realized when he opened his eyes was that this wasn’t his house. The second was that his left arm felt incredibly heavy. The previous day’s events slowly came back to him: the mushrooms near the highway, his fall, the pain, Hugh. He remembered Hugh’s warm, rough hands, gentle against his skin. Hugh’s brown eyes smiling at him, distracting him from the pain as he set the bone. His quiet understanding as Paul explained the purifying power of mycelia.

He was definitely developing a crush on the handsome doctor. And the odds that those feelings would be reciprocated were... high, to be generous. Astronomical if he were being more realistic. It was probably best that he head back to the farm. He spotted his pack propped in the corner of the room and slid one strap up his arm onto his good shoulder. It wouldn’t be comfortable, walking with the weight unbalanced like that, but he’d have to manage.

He reached for the doorknob, realizing too late he should have opened the door before lifting the backpack; the motion sent the bag sliding back down his arm and crashing to the floor. He hissed as the shifting weight threw him slightly off balance, wrenching his injured arm. He clenched his teeth against the sob that threatened to escape him, but it was no defense against the tears welling up. 

“Paul?” came a voice from down the hall. “What are you doing?” Moments later, Hugh was beside him. hands on his back, carefully guiding him back to the bed. “You need to rest.”

“I need to go.”

“Oh my gosh! Is there someone waiting for you? I didn’t think...”

Paul shook his head. “There’s no one. Just me.”

“What’s the rush then?” Hugh’s smile radiated across his entire face, and for a moment Paul didn’t want to go anywhere. He needed to, though.

“My crops...”

“You grow things? We’ve managed to get a few things going in the greenhouses, but it’s mostly herbs and greens and such, nothing with much caloric value.”

“I was enough of an amateur gardener to get a small farm going. Nothing fancy, but I’ve managed to cultivate a decent supply of beans and root vegetables; enough for me to live off of, anyway.”

Hugh rested his hand on Paul’s. “How long have you been on your own?”

“Since the rest of them died. It’s the same story for all of us, isn’t it? My sister called to tell me mom was gone, and I could tell she was in the last stages, too. That was right before the phones went out. Justin, my research partner, well, it took a little longer, but it came for him, too. And then there was just me.”

“So you’ve been alone for over a year? And never tried to find anyone?”

“The farm had everything I needed to survive, and I had no way of knowing how long it would take me to find anyone. I figured, why risk it?”

“Because you didn’t. Have everything you needed, I mean. You need people, Paul. We all do.” 

* * *

Paul finally agreed to let them send a few people to tend his farm while he recovered. Not that he had much choice; twenty miles was a bit of a walk to make regularly, and Hugh didn’t want to risk Paul’s balance on a bicycle. And once he started training the volunteers, Paul was truly in his element. Moisture levels, soil pH, the best fertilizers for potatoes as opposed to soybeans... the math made Hugh’s head spin a bit. but it was a delight seeing Paul so engaged. He’d been so closed at first, and often was still, but his demeanor changed in an instant when he had knowledge to share. 

He seemed especially impressed by Tilly, and she hung on his every word. Hugh was pleased; she sometimes had trouble relating to people, and Paul was very much able to speak to her on her level. When he wasn’t busy reviewing basic agriculture, they were in one of the biology labs, examining the fungi specimens Paul had collected.

“Tilly’s really taken a shine to you,” Hugh mentioned one evening during dinner. “She doesn’t open up to many people.”

“She’s a special kid. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her.”

“I see.” Hugh frowned, trying to convince himself that his displeasure was more out of concern than jealousy.

“Not like that,” Paul added quickly. “I’m, ah, way too old for her, for one thing, and... yeah.”

The ‘and’ had caught Hugh’s attention. “Hey, I was thinking about something. When we first met, when I was treating you... you said I was an angel. It’s, well,” he smiled, “it’s not really the kind of thing a guy hears too often.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it.” Paul looked away. “It’s probably like you said. Being on my own for so long, it just felt good to see another human being.”

“Yeah, kind of what I figured.” Hugh looked down at his bowl and swirled his leftover broth with his spoon. He didn’t really feel like talking anymore.

* * *

A few nights later, Paul was shuffling back to his room after a late-night trip to the bathroom when he heard the moan. It wasn’t uncommon; people tended to pair off when they could, and the dormitory walls weren’t exactly what one could call soundproofed. It was an easy enough thing to ignore.

What he heard next, not so much.

“Please, no! Not again! Not this time!” The words weren’t teasing, but pained and fearful. And the voice was Hugh’s. Paul pounded on the door, but there was no response. He hesitated for just a moment, then tried the knob. It was unlocked. Hugh was still asleep but breathing heavily, his blanket a twisted mess around his legs. “No, there’s so many, so many...”

Paul placed a hand on Hugh’s shoulder, shaking him gently. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe.”

Hugh woke with a gasp. “Paul,” he said once his breathing began to steady. 

“Sorry for barging in like this. I heard you yelling, and I was worried.”

“I appreciate it. It’s... they’re not usually this bad.” He sat up, kicking his legs free of the blankets.

“Does it happen often?”

“Most nights,” Hugh admitted. “You said it was the same story for everyone. That’s not entirely true.”

Paul sat on the bed beside Hugh as the realization hit him. “You were a doctor.”

“I still am, but yes. We thought it was a normal flu outbreak at first, if a bit late in the season for it. And some people will die from it; you expect that, prepare for it. But then... they all did... and the hospital... there were bodies everywhere. Nowhere to take them. And then, no  _ one _ to take them. There was just me.” Hugh leaned his head on Paul’s chest. “You were right about that much. It always ends the same way.”

Warmth spread through Paul, overcoming his surprise at the sudden familiarity. He shifted his injured arm to make room, letting the other arm drape across Hugh’s back, gently at first, then more solidly as Hugh relaxed into the embrace. “But your story didn’t end there. You came here, became a part of this community; you found me.” 

“I never really thought about it that way. It was always just before, and now. And now hurts, and...”

Paul hated the pain in Hugh’s voice, hated to feel him tremble in his grasp, but the feel of Hugh’s body beside his... He liked that. And maybe Hugh liked it, too. “Hugh? What’s happening here?”

Hugh looked up and slithered out from under Paul’s arm. “Oh, god, I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t even realize...”

“I didn’t say we had to stop. I just need to know...”

“The other night, when we were talking about Tilly, you sounded like you were about to tell me something...”

He looked at Hugh looking back at him, immediately remembering the conversation Hugh was referring to, and finally let himself recognize the hope shining in Hugh’s eyes. He nodded. “Yeah. I’m gay. And whatever this is, I... I wouldn’t mind exploring it.”

“Well, then, I’m glad we’re on the same page.” Hugh ran his fingers through Paul’s hair, letting his hand rest at the back of his head, then leaned in, pressing his lips only briefly to Paul’s before pulling away.

No, Paul realized as he leaned forward, chasing another taste of those lips, neither of their stories was over yet. In fact, maybe they were just beginning.


End file.
